Panthers qualify for CCS after strong PAL performances

On Thursday, April 30, and Saturday, May 9, track and field competed in the Peninsula Athletic League (PAL) Championships at Sequoia High School. The team put together solid performances in trials on April 30 as athletes prepared for finals on May 9.

On the girls’ side, the Panthers entered PALs with momentum after breaking the school record in the 4×800 relay with a time of 9:28.02 minutes at the 2026 Arcadia Invitational, set by seniors Stella Newman and Mika Haggarty, sophomore Elaina Newman, and junior Elizabeth Carroll.

Held annually at Arcadia High School in Southern California, the Arcadia Invitational is considered one of the largest and most competitive high school track meets in the country, bringing together top athletes and nationally ranked programs across the country.

Carroll said the momentum going into the 4×800 relay was especially meaningful because the team had already broken the record in the previous year.

“We held the previous school record from last year, but to break it on such a big stage was so special,” Carroll said. “Arcadia is basically one of the biggest track meets in the country, so being able to do it there with each other was amazing.”

Carroll added that the relay improved significantly from the previous year’s record-breaking performance.

“Last year we broke it by less than a second, and this year we came back and broke it by almost 20 seconds,” Carroll said.

That energy carried over to PALs. In the 800-meter race finals, Carroll finished in first place with a time of 2:18.17, followed by Elaina Newman in third, earning them a spot at Central Coast Section Championships.

In the 4×400 relay, seniors Maliha Moran, Ellora Horan, Stella Newman, and Carroll finished third with a 4:13.15 finish. In the 4×800 relay, Stella Newman, Elaina Newman, Haggarty, and Carroll placed second with a time of 9:40.94, qualifying for CCS Championships.

In the 100-meter hurdles, Horan finished fourth and placed fifth in the 300-meter hurdles. On the field, junior Mia Milks placed fifth in the high jump, and junior Izzy Erickson finished fourth in shot put, allowing them to seal a spot for CCS.

The boys also had solid performances in the relay events, despite none of them qualifying for the Central Coast Section (CCS) Championship. Seniors Ryan Frank and Mason Patch, along with juniors Tad Folgner and Reid O’Brien finished sixth in the 4×400 relay with a time of 3:39.82. In the 4×100 relay, juniors Jannik Nomm and Noah Blum, along with seniors Tyler Crawford and Ryan Frank, finished sixth with a time of 45.37.

Assistant coach Carly Burrow said the PAL Championship competition served as a valuable preparation for the postseason.

“I think it challenged them enough, having to compete with some of the best athletes all in the same race always pushes you to be your very best, and that really showed most kids that were competing got [personal records], and that sets you up for CCS, because it’s another one of those races where it’s the best of the best all coming together, pushing each other,” Burrow said.

Burrow also credited the team’s chemistry throughout the season as one of the biggest reasons for the Panthers success.

“I’m hoping they remember how much they pushed each other,” Burrow said. “Even in practices they were always so good about keeping spirits high, and even though it’s a really hard workout or something, they’ll always push each other to do the best that they can, even if they’re struggling, they’re going to be pushing each other, and I love that.”

Burlingame sends athletes to CCS Championships

On Saturday, May 16, team members competed in the CCS Championships at Gilroy High School, facing some of the section’s top athletes. While Burlingame was unable to secure many top finishes, several Panthers still qualified for CCS finals.

In the girls’ 800-meter preliminaries, Carroll qualified for CCS Finals and finished third overall with a time of 2:15.30. Elaina Newman also competed in the event, finishing 21st with a time of 2:19.57. Stella Newman competed in the girls’ 1600-meter preliminaries, where she finished 21st with a time of 5:19.16.

Burlingame’s girls’ 4×800 relay team of Elaina Newman, Stella Newman, Carroll, and Haggarty continued the strong postseason performance, finishing sixth overall with a time of 9:37.04 to advance to CCS finals.

In the field events, Erickson placed 20th in the girls’ shot put preliminaries with a throw of 30 feet- 6.50 inches, while Milks cleared 4 feet, 10 inches in high jump, and finished 20th overall.

On Saturday, May 23, CCS Finals were hosted. At the meet, the girls’ 4×800 relay team of Elaina Newman, Haggarty, Stella Newman, and Carroll placed fifth overall with a time of 9:20.40. In the girls’ 800-meter race, Carroll placed fourth with a 2:12.87 finish to qualify for the California Interscholastic Federation State Track & Field Championships, where she will compete Friday, May 29, at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Clovis.

According to head coach Chris Coleman, the girls’ team continued to stand out throughout the postseason. Coleman also highlighted the team’s ability to compete against some of the strongest athletes in the section.

“The other things that stand out is just their ability to compete with the best in the section, you look at what we got through to finals, Elizabeth [Carroll] winning her heat, our four by eight [4×800] team making it all the way through the finals, and so on. Those levels is what stands out to me,” Coleman said.

According to Coleman, preparation heading into CCS was heavily focused on balancing workouts with recovery as athletes prepared for higher-level competition.

“There are some nerves, because again, it’s the best of the section, so you do have to deal with that, but the thing about competing is if your workouts are right, and if your performance is right, and if you feel right, then your performance is going to speak for itself,” Coleman said.

Stella Newman said the team prepared both physically and mentally ahead of CCS.

“We did some race workouts to work on pacing beforehand, repeats, shorter repeats at race pace to like dial in on our pacing, which was helpful, because I don’t think any of us went out too fast, so we stuck to our paces, and then we just rest,” Newman said.

Stella Newman also said the atmosphere at CCS felt much different compared to regular meets.

“There’s more than 140 schools in CCS, so it’s basically 10 times as big as any other meet we have,” Newman said. So it’s just the atmosphere is definitely a lot more hype and exciting. You’re seeing people that you haven’t raced against all season, and it’s just a lot of fun.”